Hearing my question, Ember closed her eyes and shook her head.
"No, I haven't mastered it yet. I can only open and close the entrance to it for now. I can't stop time inside it yet, and the size is pretty limited."
I jumped in excitement hearing her explanation.
"That's fine! Can it fit all the books here?"
"It should barely fit. Should I?"
A loud thud echoed from the stone doors as I was about to give her the go signal. Beyond the door, I could hear loud, wet, squirming noises. The meat blob should be right beyond the door right now.
I gulped hard as I imagined the hell waiting for us beyond the door. We'd be finished if they managed to break the door and enter. Rather, with them right outside the door, we're effectively stuck in here.
"Go, store all of the books. Quick!"
I urged Ember. On the other hand, I searched around for another exit. However, the room was small enough to let me see its entirety in a single glance. I found no hidden doors, no windows, not even air vents.
Before I fell into despair, I remembered Ember mentioning the use of the Space element. I also recalled that she appeared here through a portal-like passage.
"Can you use teleportation portals now, Ember?"
While busily throwing books into her subspace, Ember answered with an affirmative.
"Yes, Master, I can. However, it's mostly unstable and consumes a large amount of energy. I could only keep it open for a second or two at most."
Hearing her answer, an idea popped into my head. I quickly searched the spines of the books and looked for a specific one.
"Ember, you too, look for a book that feels like it's related to the magic circle at the plaza."
Given a second or two, it shouldn't be a problem for the two of us to pass through the portal in time. However, with Ember's remaining energy, she could only reach about a hundred meters away at best. She needs to rest long enough to recover her energy and create a portal to the surface.
The problem is that we don't have too much time on our hands. The door was already showing signs of cracking. It should last for a few minutes more, but honestly, I feel that it may break at any moment now.
Our only hope now is to find documents related to magic circles and learn the operation of the one at the plaza. If we could turn it in reverse, then we should be able to escape this place.
"Master, I found it!"
Ember shouted as she threw a book at me. I caught it and quickly wiped the dust away. The book title was "Encyclopedia of Magic Circles," so I think it should at least have a clue inside.
I quickly turned the pages, skimming the drawings and looking for one that looked similar to the one we needed. Halfway through, I found one that matched it perfectly.
It was a magic circle with a name starting with "almighty," but the rest of the name was blurred out as if erased on purpose. I read out its description and quickly found its activation and usage. It was simple and could be done quickly, to the point that I didn't even need to memorize anything.
"Master, I'm done packing!"
Ember suddenly notified me. The shelves were now as empty as a desert; all the books were stuffed completely inside Ember's subspace. I closed the book and inserted it into my storage ring before asking Ember to proceed.
"Okay, make a portal leading to the magic circle now. As soon as you do, we'll jump through the portal, and I'll activate the magic circle. Just in case, keep close to me at all times."
I briefed Ember. Although I talked a bit too quickly, as I was worrying about the almost broken doors, Ember nodded her head in complete understanding.
She walked to the center of the small room and closed her eyes. Soon, the stale air inside the room went astir. A portal opened before Ember in an instant.
"Go!"
Ember shouted as we jumped inside.
As I leaped, I used a dagger to open a bloody wound on my palm. Then, after landing at the magic circle, I used the flowing blood to dash out the "repel" part written on it before slamming my bloody palm into its middle.
Light suddenly shone, enough to temporarily blind us. I could hear the sound of squirming meat coming closer as it found us, but it was too late for it.
When we opened our eyes, there were no more signs of the hooded figures or the grotesque ball of meat.
However, I frowned as I looked around. Although it was a familiar scene, the place was all white instead of all black. Wait, familiar? Did I see something like this before?
"This place is..."
Ember muttered as she inspected the surroundings.
However, there's nothing much worth seeing anywhere. The space was a cube of about 10 meters on each side. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all covered in white luminescent objects, which honestly looked like tiles.
Other than the two of us that were sent here for some reason, the place was completely empty.
For now, I tried going around the walls, knocking to see if a hidden passage would magically appear. In just a short while, I managed to search everything within reach but came up with nothing.
I looked at Ember and noticed that she still had a worried look on her face. I shrugged my shoulders as I called to her.
"Ember, let's rest here for now. If push comes to shove, we can just escape using your portals."
I lay down to rest, staring at the white ceiling of the place. However, Ember's face blocked the view. A soft object touched my lips and stayed for a few seconds. Then Ember moved her head away. Her eyes were watery as she whispered.
"Master, don't leave me alone... Ever again..."
Then, she planted another kiss. Her slimy tongue moved in to play with mine.
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